Bobby Lassiter has some important secrets--but it's not as if anyone's paying attention. It's the middle of the Depression, and while Bobby's mother and older sister knit all day to make money, Bobby explores the California desert around their home. That's how Bobby finds Boots. He's under their one halfdead tree, half-dead himself. Right away he too is a secret--a secret to be fed and clothed and taken care of, and even more of a secret because of what he can do. Sometimes Boots is a man. Sometimes he's (really, truly) a horse. He and Bobby both know something about magic--and readers will, too, after reading the acclaimed Carol Emshwiller's first novel for Viking.